On my recent trip to New York, I was recommended by a friend who knows I’m a fan of urban art to take the subway out to Long Island City to check out 5Ptz. The 200,000 square foot complex consists of a graffiti covered warehouse, adjacent garages and railway lines and is widely regarded as the global epicentre of the aerosol-based art.
It was lucky I took his advice as all of the grafitti in this amazing urban art space has tragically just been whitewashed to make away for a residential development (See this article from the Huffington Post.) The name of the colourful outdoor art space had derived from the coming together of the five boroughs and on arrival, I was blown away by the quality and vivacity of the murals. Therefore, despite temperatures being well below freezing, I spent a number of hours admiring the walls and enjoying a couple of hours out of the city. Below are some of my favourite shots which now hopefully serve as a nostalgic reminder of a fascinating urban space:
